RIBA reveals the 20 best new buildings in the world and announces the RIBA International Emerging Architect

Posted May 09, 2018

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has revealed the winners of the RIBA Awards for International Excellence 2018 and announced the RIBA International Emerging Architect 2018.

The RIBA Awards for International Excellence 2018 have been awarded to 20 exceptional new buildings in 16 countries, ranging from large urban infrastructure schemes to private homes; cultural destinations to civic spaces; educational buildings to places of worship.

Gustavo Utrabo and Pedro Duschenes, founders of Brazilian architecture firm Aleph Zero, are the recipients of the RIBA International Emerging Architect 2018 . Their project, the Children Village in Formoso do Araguaia, Brazil, designed with Rosenbaum, is one of the 20 winners announced today.

The Children Village provides boarding accommodation for 540 senior school children at the Canuanã School. Run and funded by the Bradesco Foundation, it is one of forty schools providing education for disadvantaged local children and is the first of their projects to use design to improve the quality of education.

Aleph Zero operates in a range of areas, from the design of furniture, exhibitions, residential and commercial architecture, to urban-scale projects for both public and private sector clients. Constructed in prefabricated and reforested wood, Children Village is a powerful demonstration to the community of the importance of using of natural resources in a rational and sustainable way.

Speaking about the RIBA Awards for International Excellence 2018, RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said: “The RIBA Awards for International Excellence 2018 are a testament to the breadth and quality of architecture being created around the world. These 20 outstanding projects were selected for their architectural ambition design ingenuity and excellence of execution. Importantly they demonstrate the significant and far reaching contribution that architecture makes to our daily lives. These qualities are exemplified in the inspiring project Children Village by Aleph Zero who we are delighted to announce as RIBA International Emerging Architect 2018.”

Speaking about the RIBA International Emerging Architect 2018, Julia Barfield, Chair of the RIBA Awards Group, said: “It's always a pleasure to be able to recognise and reward emerging talent. We were impressed by the way the architects embraced† the question of how architecture can stimulate its users as well as the surrounding community in a region rich in natural resources but poor in opportunities education and economic resources Aleph Zero are philosophical reflectful and thoughtful architects who are reinterpreting the Brazilian vernacular using the abundant natural resources that surround the site in an innovative way which inherently promotes both economic and environmental sustainability.”

The 20 winning projects announced today form the long list for the RIBA International Prize 2018; the shortlist of four buildings will be announced in September 2018 and the winner will be revealed in November 2018.

The RIBA International Prize 2018 will be awarded to the most significant and inspirational building of the year. The winning project will exemplify design excellence, architectural ambition and deliver meaningful social impact. The RIBA International Prize is open to any qualified architect in the world.

The inaugural RIBA International Prize was awarded in 2016 to Grafton Architects, curators of the 16th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale, for their outstanding university building, UTEC (Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología) in Lima, Peru.